Whenever a franchise comes into the season as a defending champion, the hope from fans, players, and the front office is to get back to the mountaintop once again. But what happens when, after all that hope and hype, your team gets sent home in the first round of the playoffs? Well, the usual and some would say the easiest step is to change the head coach. And after the New York Liberty were knocked out in the first round by the Phoenix Mercury, head coach Sandy Brondello has been relieved of her duties.

This decision comes as quite a shock, as not even a year ago, Sandy Brondello led the team to its first-ever WNBA championship. Moreover, she had significant backing from her star players, Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu. In fact, when the question about Sandy coming back next year was asked, Breanna Stewart had a hilarious reaction before giving her full support to the Australian coach.

Although it is certainly fair to say that the New York Liberty’s title defense was very underwhelming, the injuries played a big part in their season crumbling after such a great start. The Liberty started its title defense in an electric fashion and started the season with a 9-game win streak. However, just a few games later, they suffered their first injury setback as 2024 Finals MVP Jonquel Jones missed time due to injury. Since then, the Liberty have never been able to consistently have their full roster available. It came to a stage where the Liberty didn’t even care about their seedings that much and just wanted to prioritize health.

But that health only lasted one game. During the overtime period of game one of the first-round, Breanna Stewart sprained her MCL. Although she did not miss any games, it was clear that she wasn’t a 100%. This led to a dominant game two and three performances by Satou Sabally. Sure there were plenty of fans calling out Sandy Brondello for her lack of adjustments throughout the series but nothing seemed to work.

However, despite their early exit, the decision to sack Sandy Brondello is a surprise to say the least. Especially after both Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu had shown their full support for her. During the post game press conference, Stewie had said, “To anybody that kinds questions Sandy… she has our back and we have hers.” While the comments were certainly reassuring at the time, less than a week later, the front office made the decision and sacked her. But after so much support and a recent championship, why exactly did they New York Liberty took to decision to part ways with her?

Why did the New York Liberty fire Sandy Brondello?

It certainly wouldn’t have been an easy decision. Letting go of a coach who is well liked by your star players and had just recently led the team to their first-ever championship. However, in professional sports, sometimes tough decisions needs to be made. Sure, the players may have like the coach, but if the New York Liberty’s final game is any indication, the fans certainly weren’t happy.

In their final game of the season, the many Liberty fans walked out as early as the third quarter. What’s even more surprising is that the game was actually really close at the time. At the end of the third quarter, it was just a one-point game with the the Phoenix Mercury leading 60-59. The fans’ walking out was a big blow as the Liberty were not able to make a comeback. While the fans walking out might have been the last straw, it wasn’t the first time Liberty fans had been concerned with Sandy Brondello.

In games two and three of the series, where Satou Sabally dominated, fans were constantly active on social media calling out Sandy for her lack of adjustments. These adjustments, or lack thereof, were a big part of the reason that many fans also believed that maybe to take this roster ahead, they need a new voice.

Whether the decision to let her go or not turns out to be the correct ones, Sandy’s firing has opened up a big opportunity for potential coaches. Till now, there are no concrete rumors or reports about her potential successor. However, one name that will surely be of interest is Dawn Staley. Whether a chance to lead a talented team such as New York Liberty be enough to compel her to finally leave South Carolina or not, remains to be seen.